MLP: Next Generation
by harrison31605
Summary: This is a fanfic of MLP:FIM Next Gen. More info at my DeviantArt soon: @brohoof857
1. Characters

Characters

Twilight and Flash:

Nova (female/pegasus) - oldest

Silver Spark (male/unicorn) - second oldest

Comet (male/pegasus) - youngest

Spike and Ember:

Blaze (male/dragon) - oldest

Skyla (female/dragon) - second oldest

Emerald (female/dragon) - youngest

Rarity and Thunderlane:

Alexander (male/pegasus) - oldest

Ebony Storm (female/unicorn) - youngest

Rainbow Dash and Soarin:

Sky Streaker (male/pegasus) - oldest

Autumn (female/pegasus) - second oldest

Feather Breeze (female/pegasus) - youngest

Fluttershy and Big Macintosh:

Cinnamon Apple (female/pegasus) - oldest

Robin Wing (male/pegasus) - youngest

Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle:

Sugar Velvet (female/unicorn) - oldest/only

Applejack and Caramel:

Honey Apple (female/earth pony) - oldest/only

Apple Bloom and Tender Taps:

Apple Butter (female/earth pony) oldest/only

Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich:

Chocolate Swirl (male/earth pony) - twin

Strawberry Swirl (female/earth pony) - twin

Sweetie Belle and Button Mash:

Melody (female/unicorn) - oldest/only

Scootaloo and Rumble:

Storm Cloud (male/pegasus) - oldest

Lightning Streak (female/pegasus) - youngest

Princess Celestia and Discord:

Aurora (female/draconequus-unicorn) - oldest

Anastasia (female/draconequus-alicorn) - second oldest

Alistair (male/draconequus-pegasus) - youngest

Princess Luna and Sombra (no longer King):

Midnight Gleam (female/unicorn) - oldest

Shadow Storm (male/pegasus) - second oldest

Nyx (female/pegasus) - youngest

Princess Cadence and Shining Armor:

Flurry Heart (female/alicorn) - oldest

Silver Shield (male/unicorn) - youngest

Flurry Heart and Pound Cake:

Cotton Candy (female/pegasus) - twin

Caramel Cake (male/pegasus) - twin

Pumpkin Cake Coming Soon


	2. Pumpkin Leaves Pip

**So, this one has a bit of backstory. So, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake are grown up now and live their own lives. Pound Cake lives in the Crystal Empire and is married to Flurry Heart. Pumpkin on the other hand still lives in Ponyville in a small house with Pipsqueak. Though, most of the time, Pip is hanging out with the pirates and traveling all around the edges of Equestria. So, not wanting to raise her daughter, Hazel Blossom, alone, she decides to take matters into her own hands.**

* * *

Pumpkin woke one morning to find Pipsqueak gone. He was most likely travelling with the pirates again. She groaned as she rolled out of the bed and slumped to the bathroom to brush her curly hair.

While she was in the bathroom, she had a thought. _No more_. Pip was almost never around, always gone with the pirates or out on some dangerous adventure or even to the bar in other towns. She went into her room and packed all over her belongings into her suitcase.

When she was done, she walked down the hall to her daughter, Hazel Blossom's room. She walked in and gently woke her daughter. Hazel groaned and looked at her mom with sleep in her eyes.

"Mom? What's going on?" she asked drowsily.

"We're going to the Crystal Empire to stay with your Uncle for a while." Pumpkin said retrieving her daughter's suitcase from her closet. "I need you to pack everything you can carry, we're not coming back."

Hazel, being young, didn't understand why her mom was upset, but she was old enough to know that it had something to do with her father's absence. She packed her suitcase and saddle bag quickly and met her mom downstairs.

Hazel Blossom carried her saddle bag on her back while Pumpkin held their luggage with her magic. They trotted silently to the train station and caught the next train to the Crystal Empire.

On the train ride, Hazel slept against her mother's side, swaying gently with the rocking of the train. Pumpkin had been sending her brother letters over the past month telling him her plans to leave her lonely and stressful life with Pip running off and leaving her with the bills and taking care of Hazel, who didn't understand why her father didn't want to be around her.

When they arrived at the train station at the Crystal Empire, Pound Cake was waiting for them. When they approached, he smiled and hugged his sister and niece. "Where's Flurry?" Pumpkin asked looking around for her sister-in-law.

"She's at the castle trying to get a couple hours of sleep in." Pumpkin noticed the dark circles under his eyes and understood the sleepless nights of early parenthood.

She too had stayed up for days on end before figuring out that Hazel slept better with a glass of milk and her mother's warmth.

Hazel yawned and Pound Cake gave a warm smile. "Come, let's get to the castle, Cadence helped me get a room set up when I got your letter yesterday. I can only imagine how tired she is." Hazel collapsed dramatically and started snoring loudly.

The two cake siblings began laughing at the filly as she sat up, smiling at her mother. She hadn't seen her mother this happy for a long time. It was nice to hear her laugh again.

Pound Cake lowered his large wing to the ground. "Hop on, I'll carry you."

"Are you sure?" Pumpkin asked nervously.

Pound Cake smiled. "Of course," he lowered his voice. "Besides, I don't think she'll make it as tired as she is." Hazel carefully lifted herself using her magic and landed softly onto her uncle's back, laying down instantly.

As they walked down the path to the empire, Hazel got used to the swaying and fell asleep. She woke not long after when the lights of the empire washed over her.

The empire was beautiful under the light of the half moon. The buildings shimmered and the crystal ponies glowed as they trotted nonchalantly through the streets, though not many ponies were awake at this late hour, there were a couple making late night trips to the market.

Hazel even saw a group of young fillies playing a board game in a lit up tent in one of the front yards, perhaps having a slumber party. The sight of it made her think of her friends back in Ponyville - Apple Butter, Melody, and Lightning Streak - and the fun times they'd had together.

The memories soon left her as they came closer to the Crystal Castle.

Pound Cake led them up to the room which was only a couple doors down from Pound Cake and Flurry Heart's room. It was a simple room with a large bed, a dresser, a night stand, and a desk.

While Pumpkin unpacked their clothes and other belongings, Hazel Blossom went to the window and looked out over the Crystal Empire and the houses and shops below.

Her eyes soon began to droop, reminding her off her low energy level. She crawled into the cold, but soft, bed and dozed off as her mother finished unpacking their belongings and crawled into the bed next to her daughter, falling asleep within minutes.


	3. Rags Meets Riches

**It's time for winter wrap-up again and the next generation is learning their way in Equestria by visiting different areas and helping with welcoming the warmer weather. Shadow Storm goes to Ponyville, Midnight Gleam goes to Manehatten, Nyx goes to Baltimare, Aurora goes to Philly Delphia, Anastasia goes to Las Pegasus, Celestia and Alistair go to Appleoosa, and Luna goes to Vanhoover.**

* * *

Shadow Storm is lead by Twilight through all the procedures and everything is going smoothly so they go down to Sweet Apple Acres where the earth ponies are clearing the fields of snow.

Cinnamon Apple and Robin Wing are flying to everypony, offering refreshments and encouragement. Twilight and Shadow head to the barn where Sugar Velvet is cooking meals for everypony, Apple Butter is loading a cart, and Honey Apple is pulling the cart through town and the two delivered food throughout the town.

Shadow tastes some of the apple pie Sugar Velvet has just pulled out of the oven and excitedly says, "This is better than any pie even the royal chefs can cook up." Sugar Velvet blushes and humbly replies, "It's a new recipe I came up with. I've always been good at cooking for the family."

Shadow reluctantly leaves and finished his duties in the little town, but a certain dark violet unicorn remained in his mind. He hadn't asked her of her heritage of being a unicorn born into the Apple family, but he thought it'd be rude to ruin the moment and potentially reopen old wounds, especially since she seemed so happy.

He hadn't thought of it at the moment, but an idea came to his mind and he thanked Twilight before tucking the completed list under his wing and trotting back to the farm.

He knocked on the door and heard Velvet's answer from inside. "Come in." she called. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside. The unicorn was mixing two bowls of contents in the kitchen.

He slowly walked over to her and tried to use his telepathy to sense any fears inside her mind, but he found nothing.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely, not taking her eyes from the bowls as she cracked an egg and carefully dropped it into one of the bowls.

"Actually, I was hoping I'd be able to help you." She whipped around at his voice, the bowls dropping out of her magic. Shadow leaped forward and caught the two bowls with his wings.

"Wow, you're quick as a whip." Velvet said, staring at the undisturbed bowls balancing on each of the prince's wings. He set them on the counter and retrieved his checklist, which had fluttered to the ground during his act of heroism.

"So, how can I help?" he asked, smiling coolly. Velvet blinked then shook her head. She looked around the kitchen. Shadow got the sense she was formulating a plan.

"How messy do you plan on getting?" she asked.

Shadow laughed a little. "It doesn't matter." Velvet smiled warmly. She hadn't met a royal who didn't like getting their hooves dirty. Then again, she hadn't met a royal before, except for Princess Twilight and her family, but she'd been living in Ponyville since before she became a princess, and she was raising her children to not be afraid to get their hooves dirty.

Apple Butter and Honey Apple pulled the cart next to the barn.

"Um, can you help them load the cart with those?" Velvet pointed to the pile of baked goods on the other end of the counter. He nodded and she turned back to the bowls and began mixing them again.

Shadow set his list on the counter and held two pies on each wing and a tray of muffins in his mouth. Balancing the food, he confidently walked out of the kitchen and came to the door as Apple Butter opened it, her jaw dropped when she saw the black prince standing in her doorway balancing pies on his wings and muffins in his mouth.

She stepped out of his way and watched as he carefully set the pies and muffins on the cart. Apple Butter stared in awe as he trotted back into the barn and came out a minute later with a tray of cinnamon muffins topped with apple slices in his jaws, one tray of fritters on one wing, and a tray of apple fritters balancing on the other wing.

He set the treats on the cart and headed back into the barn. This time, Apple Butter and Honey Apple followed him inside and saw Sugar Velvet mixing ingredients and placing two full pie tins and two muffin trays into the open oven while Prince Shadow Storm picked up the last tray of cinnamon muffins on his wing and headed back to the cart, nodding to the two mares as he passed, trotting out to the now full cart.

He shut the door to the cart and trotted back inside. He stopped briefly to nod to the Apples. "Hello." He said, smiling kindly, before continuing to the kitchen and taking the finished muffins out of the oven and placing them on the counter to cool while Velvet was mixing a batch of cupcakes.

Honey Apple shook her head and looked to her younger cousin. "Come on." she said energetically. "We've got deliveries to make." She galloped out to the cart and hooked herself up to the cart. Apple Butter galloped alongside her cousin as the two made their way back into town.

Velvet mixed together the wet and dry ingredients, mixed the contents together, poured the batter into a cupcake tray she'd borrowed from the Swirl twins while they were out skating on the lakes with their parents, Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie.

When the cupcakes were done, Shadow pulled them out of the oven and set them on the counter and Velvet began to make apple fritters, filling the soft bread with the special, homemade filling made of cinnamon, sugar, apple bits, and nutmeg.

She looked back at the prince, who was beginning to sweat now. "I don't see how you keep up." he panted, laughing a little.

She smiled and replied prettily, "Hard work runs in the family, we can endure some pretty intense work for hours before taking a break." she smirked. After seeing his slightly shocked expression, she blushed and smiled innocently. "Uh, sorry. I just get used to being in the hot kitchen since I was young. It always took my mind off of," she hesitated and broke the eye contact to stare at the ground. "Other things." she muttered.

Shadow took the opportunity and reached into her thoughts. The image shocked him. A light magenta mare laid in a hospital bed while a familiar red stallion and young violet filly laid on a bench nearby. The filly looked to be only a couple weeks old, resting her head on her father's foreleg while they watched the mare as if waiting for her to wake at any moment. The stallion looked like he hadn't slept in days and both of their cheeks were still damp with drying tears.

Suddenly, the monitor began beeping rapidly, making both ponies jolt up. Seconds later, a doctor and two nurses rushed in. The doctor went to the patient while the nurses urged the stallion and young unicorn out of the roomed and closed the door behind them. The two ponies went to the window and watched in horror as more doctors rushed into the room.

"Sugar Belle!" the stallion moaned loudly.

"Mama! Mama!" the filly shouted to the glass. Tears gathered in her eyes and her voice became a squeak. "Ma-ma." The stallion looked like he was about to break the glass, but he was weak from lack of sleep and slumped to the ground, pulling the filly into an embrace. They held each other and cried as the beeping ceased and a doctor slowly stepped out of the room and she whispered two words to the stallion. "I'm sorry."

The scene shifted and they stood in front of a crowd of ponies dressed in black in a field of gravestones. Behind them was a casket. Inside was the same unicorn mare from the hospital. Shadow's pulse quickened and his chest squeezed as he looked around, as if pieces of a puzzle were falling into place.

The unicorn was a couple weeks older now, her curly purple violet hair had grown out, making her look strikingly familiar. The stallion's head hung low, an orange mare wearing a farmer's hat, a yellow mare wearing a black bow, and a yellow pegasus mare with a long, pink mane stood near him, comforting him in the silence with light hugs and placing their hooves gently on his shoulders.

The vision faded and Sugar Velvet sat in front of him, her cheeks damp and their were two tiny puddles on the wood floor.

He found his own eyes were becoming wet. He reached forward and hugged Velvet, who gasped at the sudden contact, but she soon wrapped her own hooves around him. Her breaths came quick and ragged.

"It's okay." he whispered. She laughed a little, which surprised him.

"You have no idea how many times ponies have told me that." She squeezed him a little. "Thank you." she whispered back. She slowly stepped back and wiped her tears away.

"My mother's death was hard on both me and my father. And Fluttershy and her kids are nice, but I always feel left out, being the only unicorn in the family and all." she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she smiled kindly and Shadow smiled back. "You're really easy to talk to."

He chuckled slightly. "I've learned to be a good listener. My sisters usually do most of the talking. I find that the less you talk, the more you hear, the more you learn." he smiled coyly.

Twilight magically popped out of nowhere and held a letter in her wing. "This is for you, from Princess Luna." she said, cordially, passing him the letter, which he took in his hoof.

 _Once your duties are complete, I ask that you spend a little time in the area, learn a thing or two, and meet a couple ponies there. Return to the castle at sunset._

 _Princess Luna_

He smiled and looked up at Twilight. "Do you have a piece of paper I can borrow?" The princess brightened and a scroll and quill appeared in front of him. "Thank you." He took the quill and scroll and wrote a reply to his mother.

 _Mother,_

 _I have a friend I would like to invite to dinner tonight, as well as her parents and two siblings. I think you'll find her stepmother, Fluttershy, quite familiar._

 _Shadow S._

He passed the note to Twilight and she sent the letter using a spell she'd made based on the power that Spike had been given as a young dragon. She'd made it when she found out that Spike was moving to the Dragonlands to be Ember's husband.

"Thank you, Princess." Shadow said.

Twilight giggled. "Oh, there's no need for that, just call me Twilight." She smiled. "And you're welcome." she dipped her head before teleporting away to Celestia-knows-where.

Shadow looked back at Velvet, who was now curious. "So?" she asked, almost hopeful.

Shadow smiled coolly. "Would you like to come to dinner at my place tonight?" Sugar Velvet was taken back. Did the prince just ask her to have dinner at his place? Or was she dreaming? "Your father, Fluttershy, and your siblings are invited as well of course." he said quickly. She shook her head in disbelief.

"Is that a no?" he asked slowly, sounding hurt and disappointed.

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, um, I'd love to." She said quickly. "I just have to ask them if they're okay with it." Velvet stumbled on her words, her thoughts fogged with shock were finally clearing up. She thought about it for a minute. "Well, if we can help speed up the wrap-up process, then maybe." Shadow smiled excitedly.

"Great, where can we start?" he asked, wings half opened in anticipation.


End file.
